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It's nearly a hundred years since dormice were last spotted living wildly in Derbyshire - but that could be about to change.

A new colony introduced near Chatsworth House is reportedly thriving and experts are hopeful the cute critters could be about to spread out into the rest of the county.

Dormice were a common site in British woodland in the 19th Century but died out in the first part of the 20th Century as a result of changes to woodland management.

However attempts are now well underway to bring the creatures back with a national project to reintroduce them into the British countryside.

In 2003 a colony was installed in South Matlock and in 2005 another was added to woodland near Chatsworth house.

And whilst the Matlock colony died out, the Chatsworth colony is going from strength to strength.

David Mallon is Chair of the Derbyshire Mammal Group which has been overseeing the project.

He said: "They're hard to spot because they're nocturnal and quite secretive but they're an important part of our woodland heritage and to have them back is great.

"There were around 35 dormice introduced at each site but the biggest problem has been mortality during the winter months.

"At Chatsworth we've had successful breeding since 2005 and last year we noticed them moving to other parts of the wood so we're quite hopeful they're going to expand."

To find out more or spot any dormice sightings, you can visit the Derbyshire Mammal Group's website.

And if you manage to catch one on camera, we'd love to see the photo - so send it derby@bbc.co.uk